66 Alfred von Kremer's edition of Wakidy. [No. 1. 



directions to open them, after he had proceeded two days' journey 

 on the upper Makkah road, on which, the Moslims had several times 

 waylaid the iLorayshites. He also told him that when he had read 

 the orders to the men under his command, he was to make them 

 distinctly understand that every one of them was at liberty to pro- 

 ceed and assist him in carrying them out or to return to Madynah. 

 On opening the letter 'Abd Allah found orders to proceed to JVakh- 

 lah, which lies on the road from Makkah to al-Tayif and Yaman, 

 and to watch the movements of the Korayshites in that quarter.* 



'Abd Allah declared that he would obey the orders of the prophet 

 and ten of his men were of the same mind, but two went to Ba^ranf 

 and after a considerable stay there they returned to Madynah, where 

 they arrived after their victorious companions. J 



* According to Ibn IsAa£ they were conceived in the following terms : " When you 

 have read this my letter proceed as far as Nakhlah, between Makkah and al-Tayif, 

 watch the movements of the /foray shites and give me information thereof." In 

 Wakidy p. 8 the letter ruus : " Go to Nakhlah in the name of God and with his bless- 

 ing. Do not force any one of the men to accompany you, but proceed and carry out 

 my orders with those who choose to follow you. When arrived at Nakhlah, watch the 

 caravans of the /foray shites." Another version is in Baghawy Coram. Kor. 2, 214. 

 I do not consider any of these versions as genuine. 



According to Sodyy he was to open the orders at Malal which is on the road 

 from Madynah to Makkah, twenty-one or eighteen miles from the former city. 



f BaZnan or BoAian is in the neighbourhood of Ma'dan Bany Solaym (Ibn 

 Sa'd). It is not far from al-Foi' (Nihdyat al-JazaryU In the territory of the 

 Solaym tribe (Wakidy p. 8.) 



\ Ibn '0#bah apud Ibn Sayyid alnas ; Wakidy p. 8 ; Sodyy and Mo'tamir apud 

 jTabary pp. 239 and 240. The names of these two men are Sa'd b. Aby WaMas 

 and 'Otbah b. Ghazwan. Ibn Ish&k and most authors after him, including Ibn 

 Sa'd deny that they refused to proceed. He says : "The whole party proceeded as 

 far as a ma'dan which is above For' and has the name of Ba^ran, there the camel 

 which Sa'd and 'Otbah b. Ghazwan were riding went astray, and whilst they went 

 in search of it, the rest of the party proceeded." It appears from Wakidy p. 9, that 

 this story has been preserved by the family of Sa'd b. Aby W&kJcis and probably 

 invented by them. The father of Wakidy's teacher had received it from the son of 

 Sa'd b. Aby WaMas. The isnad in Kremer's edition is defective and ought to run 

 " Wakidy from Abu Bakr b. Isma'yl b. MoAammad from his father, from 'Xsim b. 

 Sa'd b. Aby WaWas from his father." 





